Dr. Hazel J. Harper
Dr. Harper is a graduate of Howard University College of Dentistry and the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. She retired from practicing general dentistry in Washington, DC. She is President and CEO of Hazel J. Harper & Associates, LLC, management consultants and CEO and Founder of Hear to HEAL, Inc. [Help. Empower. Activate. Lead.]
Hazel Harper is an ardent proponent of health equity for vulnerable populations and has served her profession in many leadership roles including: a member of President Bill Clinton’s Health Reform Task Force; National Spokesperson for the American Dental Association; and member of Mayoral Transition Teams of District of Columbia. She was a reviewer of the first ever Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America (2000); and was a contributing author to the 2020 Surgeon General’s Oral Health Report.
A woman of many firsts, Dr. Harper was the first woman to serve as President of the National Dental Association (NDA), Chair of the NDA Board of Trustees, and President of the Howard University College of Dentistry Alumni Association. She was one of the founders of the Student National Dental Association; longtime editor of National Dental Association (NDA) Journal; and created many NDA programs including: The Women’s’ Health Symposium, NDA-Corporate Roundtable, the Eddie G. Smith Leadership Institute and the Nurses Oral Health Training Program. She co-founded and directed the Deamonte Driver Dental Project (DDDP), school-based, mobile dental project, in Prince George’s County, MD named in memory of the 12-year-old boy who died in 2007 from untreated tooth decay. She is Founding Director of the award-winning NDA-HEALTH NOW® Project and architect of the Inter-Professional Student Leaders Colloquium and Summit. Since Deamonte’s death, Dr. Harper has devoted her energies and creative talents to designing and activating programs to increase access and achieve health equity. Currently, she serves on the Boards of Directors of the American Dental Education Association Gies Foundation, Remote Area Medical (RAM), Howard University College of Dentistry Board of Visitors and Access to Racial & Cultural Health Institute (ARCH).
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Honorary Doctorate from Medgar Evans College in Brooklyn, NY, NDA Legacy Award and the Shils Fund Award. She lectures and writes extensively on health equity, social justice in health and interprofessional collaboration. A published author, her writings have appeared in a supplement to the Journal of the American Public Health Association (2017); book chapters in Oral Health in America: Removing the Stain of Disparities, edited by Drs. Henri Treadwell and Caswell Evans (2019); and Undaunted Trailblazers. Minority Women Leaders for Oral Health, edited by Drs. Sheila Price, Jeanne Sinkford and Marilyn Woolfolk (2021).
She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the Links, Incorporated; and enjoys spending time with family and friends; watching football and traveling with her husband, Robert S. Johns. She is also known as Dr. Hazel Harper Johns.
